Removing Fetal Tumors In Utero

According to an October 20, 2016 article, a doctors in Texas removed a sacrococcygeal teratoma (a rare tumor found on the tailbone of a newborn) from a fetus by removing the fetus from the womb, performing the surgery and then placing the fetus back into the mother’s womb. The surgery was important for the mother because she had lost the fetus’s twin during her second trimester. Without the surgery, the fetus would compete with the tumor for blood supply and may have grown increasingly ill before birth. The child was born after a full-term pregnancy, begging the question: was the baby born twice?

From Cnn.com, “Meet the baby who was born twice”

Excerpt from article:

“As Cass describes it, first their obstetrician tells them there’s something wrong and then they’re told there’s nothing that can be done and their babies will die and then a surgeon tells them there’s something that can be done. Amazingly, some end with a healthy baby.”

Disclaimer

The pieces here represent the position and analysis of the individual authors and not those of the Hofstra Bioethics Center or The Gitenstein Institute for Health Law & Policy. Each author is responsible for the accuracy of the citations and substance of the text itself.